Last night I baked a few too many sweet potatoes which I put away in the fridge with every intention of reheating for tonight’s dinner.

Then tonight, after toweling off from getting caught in the rain on the way home from work, I was overcome by a pickle craving. One thing let to another, and there I was, eating a tuna sandwich (full of delicious pickles) and neglecting my leftovers.

When the last bite of sandwich had disappeared, I was bored and home alone, which led to an inevitable case of baking itch (ew!), and began taking inventory of my ingredient options. And there they were again, my lovely baked sweet potatoes, all cold and wrapped in foil. 

They made me think of the sweet potato pound cake that we used to get at our county fair each fall when I was growing up. Mmmmm that sure would have been amazing, but alas, I was down to a lone egg, a stick of butter, and a package of cream cheese. Hard times in the East Village Kitchen.

When life hands you leftover sweet potatoes, a stick of butter, an egg, and some cream cheese, well, it becomes quite plain that one must suck it up and make: these.

I love cheesecake and cake blended together, especially when the cake is super-dense and moist, like in a cheesecake swirl brownie. And I figured, well, chocolate is sweet and dense. Sweet potatoes are (obviously) sweet, and dense… and there was just one way to test my hypothesis. 

The microwave made my task incredibly simple. I sliced the sweet potatoes in half and nuked them for a minute to soften them up a bit, and to my surprise, they slid right out of their skins! It also came in handy for quickly melting the butter, which I combined with the mashed sweet potatoes and whisked with a fork.

From there on, it was as simple as making brownies, and it was fun artfully swirling the cream cheese, egg, and sugar mixture on top of the batter before popping it into the oven. They smelled so amazing as they baked, I could hardly wait for them to cool so I could try one. It was totally worth the wait, the results were heavenly! The mellow sweetness of the dense, moist, and rich sweet potato cake is offset by a light delicious pillow of creamy, tangy cheesecake in every bite. In the grand tradition of adorable bar/cookie/dessert names (the brownie, the blondie, etc.) I’m calling this creation “the sweetie”. I can’t wait to unveil them for my friends this weekend!

Cheesecake Sweeties

For sweet potato bottoms:

8 tablespoons (1 stick) melted, unsalted butter, plus a bit more for the pan

1 and 1/2 cups whisked, cooled sweet potato

1/2 cup light-brown sugar

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour 

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon salt

For cheesecake swirls:

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

1 large egg yolk

5 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 8 inch square pan with 2 inch high walls with butter. Trim two pieces of baker’s parchment so they can sit flat on the bottom the the pan and so they are long enough to hang over the sides by a few inches. Butter the paper.

Microwave your sweet potatoes. If you are using leftover baked sweet potatoes, remove them from foil, cut them in half and microwave them for 30 seconds to a minute, depending on thickness. If you are starting with raw sweet potatoes, poke holes in the skin with a fork and microwave on high for 4 to six minutes, or until they are soft and easily mashed. Discard skins and mash and whisk with a fork until they are smooth. Microwave the butter completely in the microwave (for about 30 seconds), and whisk into the mashed sweet potatoes until the mixture is smooth with very few bumps.

Using a mixer with a paddle attachment, a hand mixer or a whisk, add sugars and beat until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until they are fully integrated. Add flour and salt and mix just until the liquids have absorbed them. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, spreading it evenly.

In a separate bowl, using a whisk or hand mixer, combine cream cheese, egg yolk, sugar, and vanilla and beat until smooth and uniform. place 6-8 large dollops of the mixture on top of the batter in the pan. Use a knife to swirl the cream cheese mixture into the batter. Rap the pan flat against the counter a few times to level, then place in the preheated oven, on the middle rack. 

Bake until the cheesecake swirls are starting to turn golden, and a toothpick inserted into the batter part comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack. Use the parchment to pull the cake from the pan and transfer it to a cutting board and cut into 16 squares. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Something that I’ve grown to love about this city are the characters who inhabit our neighborhoods and inadvertently become part of the local flavor for those who know that area intimately. 

For as long as I can remember, a stroll through Union Square on a Saturday guaranteed an encounter with a dapper gentleman with a Cockney accent squatting over a mountain of carrot, cucumber, and potato shavings, ranting about his superior Swiss stainless steel peelers. His name was Joe Ades and he was one of those New York City legends that you swear must only exist in movies.

Our neighborhood suffered a great loss earlier this month, when Mr. Ades passed away. I was saddened to read the news and for the past few weeks, I’ve definitely noticed his absence. No matter how many times I’d see him, I could never resist stopping to listen to the best sales pitch in the history of selling.

I thought of him the other night, when I brought out the Swiss peeler (that he sold me) to prepare this root vegetable gratin, which required peeling a butternut squash, two sweet potatoes, and a rutabaga. I’m sure I’ll remember him every time I use it going forward.

I picked this dish because I’ve been feeling a little off-kilter since returning from vacation and I needed some inspiration to get back into a routine of variety and nourishment (as opposed to, say, cereal for dinner twice this week? Don’t tell my mother). This recipe was the perfect shot in the arm. It looked so pretty, beckoning from the cover of this month’s Food and Wine and contrary to its name (I hear gratin, I think cheese city), it’s a very healthy recipe.

The toughest part of preparing this recipe was fighting with the mandoline. Perhaps it’s because mine is less than top of the line (I have the oxox model), but getting those thin slices was tricky with the darn’d thing sliding all over the counter and changing the slicing width on me.

Once I got past that part, it was smooth sailing. Just be warned, this is not a quick dish. Even thinly sliced root vegetables take a long time to cook. It was delicious and well worth it. I served it with some nice crusty 7-grain bread from Balthazar and a green salad. All of a sudden, I’m right back in!

Root Vegetable Gratin
Adapted from the recipe by Melissa Rubel, featured in Food and Wine, February 2009  

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled

1 butternut squash neck (2 1/4 pounds) from a large butternut squash, peeled

1 medium rutabaga (2 pounds), peeled and halved lengthwise

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth

1/4 cup heavy cream

3/4 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)

1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Butter for greasing the dish

Preheat the oven to 375°. Using a mandoline, slice the potatoes and squash lengthwise 1/8 inch thick. Slice the rutabaga crosswise 1/8 inch thick.

Grease an 8-by-12-inch glass baking dish with butter (cooking spray was recommended, I did not have any). Arrange half of the potatoes in the dish, overlapping them slightly; season with salt and pepper. Top with half of the rutabaga and the squash, seasoning each layer. Repeat the layering. Pour the broth over and around the vegetables.

Cover tightly with foil and bake for 1 hour, until the vegetables are almost tender when pierced. Remove the foil and pour the cream over the gratin. Bake for about 30 minutes longer, until the liquid has thickened.

Preheat the broiler. Mix the panko with the oil and season with salt and pepper; sprinkle over the gratin. Broil 3 inches from the heat for 2 minutes, until golden, rotating for even browning. Let the gratin stand for 10 minutes, then serve.